What’s the Best Resume Format for You?

Looking for work is one of the hardest jobs there is, or so the saying goes. The hiring process can be difficult and exhausting to navigate, that’s for sure. But, looking for a job is an important and unavoidable part of your professional journey. It helps to learn as much as you can about the process before diving in; there are many tips and words of advice out there to help you at every step of the process, from interviewing for a job to negotiating a salary.

However, before you get there, you have to get started. An excellent place to start is with one single, powerful document – your resume. Selecting a format for your resume can be difficult, and depending on your goals, your preferences, and several other factors, the right choice will vary. Knowing your options is an important first step. Here is a little information on a few of the most popular and effective formats, to help you make your decision.

Your standard resume follows a chronological format. The document begins by listing your “work history,” beginning by detailing your latest job first and then working backwards to earliest job you held in the field. If you have a formidable work history, this might be the right choice for you. A lot of employers appreciate this format as it’s the one they’re most accustomed to receiving.

If your work history is a little less traditional, than a functional or combination format might be the best choice for you. Consider these options if you’ve switched industries at some point during your career, if you’re just getting started in the working world, or if you have gaps in your employment history. Instead of beginning by listing your work history, start with “skills and experience” before moving on other items like education or work history. This could help direct your potential employers’ attention where you’d like it go.

These days, it’s making more and more sense to consider alternatives to the traditional paper resume. If you’re looking for work in a field where being able to attach graphics, videos, or other kinds of media to your resume could help you land the job, consider using a nontraditional format. There are many different types of nontraditional web-based formats to choose from. You can decide which one best meets your needs.

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Gina Belli

Gina Belli works as a teacher, freelance writer, and educational consultant, and lives in her beloved home state, Connecticut. She likes to write about education, work-life balance, and the economy. Given her arresting capacity to over-analyze anything interpersonal, her writing often tends to focus on some of the more emotional aspects of workplace connections and disconnections, as they relate to partnerships and teams, personality and communication styles, and leadership. In her free time, she likes to putter around her renovated one-room schoolhouse home, take walks in the woods, and eat as much guacamole as she can get her hands on.